Chained to a Letter
by Ember Mage
Summary: How did Kotake end up being forced to write a love letter to Doremi? Why does the letter keep coming back? And why do all of Doremi's friends know about it?
1. Parallelograms and Momoko

**Disclaimer:** All characters, titles, franchises, etc. are solely copyrighted 1999-2004 to companies such as but is not limited to Toei, TV Asahi, BANDAI, etc. unless stated otherwise. I am not affiliated with any of the companies noted above, nor do I have contact with them. This is solely created for fan enjoyment.

* * *

**Chained to a Letter  
Part 1: Parallelograms and Momoko**

* * *

All in one, the weirdest things in the entire world can happen in just a delivery of misplaced notes.

Poor Kotake Tetsuya was a miserable victim of this fate. But let's start at the beginning, shall we?

Kotake Tetsuya was busy in his room, doing one his least favorite thing in the world.

If you guessed homework, you're correct. If you guessed something else, then... I don't know what you're thinking.

"Umph..." grumbled Kotake, throwing a fit over problem #17. Why did the teachers have to assign him math problems that he'd never actually use in his life? It's not that one day when he went to the nearby park with his dog, he'd actually have to find the area and rate of the water was spurting from the water fountain.

Really.

"Grrr." Kotake idly doodled on the side of his paper, hoping that some inspirational lightning bolt would fire down at him. (Not literally, though.) He grimly stared at the parallelogram printed in his book with such frustration he could have ripped it right out of the book and shredded into tiny miniscule pieces. All because of that cursed parallelogram he was unable to break out of the curse of homework.

Math homework, of course. Math being his least favorite subject; it was hard for words.

He couldn't stand this any longer. He couldn't get the answer even if he spent eternity in his room.

Procrastination was like taking a dip into heaven. Kotake looked around his room, and his eyes landed on a photo of him and Doremi pinned to his bulletin board. He had manage to conceal the photo whenever his friends dropped by, knowing that they would tease him forever for liking that pink-haired girl. But still, Dojimi was funny and pretty likable, even if she was clumsy all the time.

The doorbell rang. Yay. Kotake would rather answer the door instead of suffering another minute in his dull room, even if it was just mail. He could feel procrastination rising up over him.

It chimed again. Kotake picked up his pace and ran for the door. His mom was in the kitchen, busy preparing dinner. She was about to head for the door when Kotake waved and yelled, "I'll get it!"

He swung the door open, and there stood a girl his age, with lime-blonde hair and sparkling jade eyes. "Kotake-kun!"

Kotake tried to hide his surprise. "Oh. Hi, Asuka."

Asuka beamed a smile, and handed him a stack of papers. "Here you go."

The boy looked stunned. "What's this, Asuka? Don't tell me we have more homework already!"

Asuka looked confused, but shrugged. "Of course it's not _homework_, silly! On Friday you left your notes at school, so I brought them here."

Kotake frowned, trying to recall the memory. Oh, right. When he remembered that he had to pound Kimura for something he couldn't remember, he had forgotten his notes. He remembered turning his entire room inside-out looking for those cursed notes. But thank heavens that at least he could stop beating himself upthinking they were gone.

"Uh, thanks, Asuka,"Kotake said, taking the stack of papers from her. Asuka nodded her thanks and turned around to leave.

"Oh, hey, Asuka. By the way, could you help me with a math problem?"

Asuka shrugged again, this time speaking in English. "Okay."

She slid on the slippers that the shoerack provided, and marched up the stairs into Kotake's room. Her eyes widened as soon asshe saw the problem.

"Kotake-kun, tell me you're joking!" she retorted, changing her language settings back to Japanese. "This problem's easy!"

"Easy for _you_,"huffed Kotake, lounging on his chair with his pencil balanced above his upper lip.

Asuka snatched the pencil off of Kotake's face and then proceeded in scribbling her work on the side of his paper. "On the side of the parallelogram, you multiply _x_ twice and then you'll get the answer."

Kotake stared for a moment, and fumbled with his pencil. Suddenly, something in his mind clicked as he jotted down a series of equations. "Ohh!" he gasped in surprise, now understanding the question. "It _does_ work! Thanks, Asuka!"

"No prob!" she said in English, sticking a finger up. Her eyes traveled around his room and she was about to comment on it when something caught her eye.

"Haaa! Kotake-kun, you have a photo of Doremi-chan on your bulletin board!"

In his attempt to finish homework, Kotake had forgotten to hide the photo. He slapped himself on the forehead and proceeded in slamming his head on his desk back and forth; back and forth.

"Aww, Kotake-kun, I think that's really sweet! So it _is_ true!"

Something in Asuka's voice contained the tone Kotake was not in the mood for hearing. "What... _what is true_?"

"Weeeeell," started the Japanese-American with an oh, so innocent expression. "Rumors at our school indicate that _you_ plus _Doremi-chan_ equals love! You're always making fun of her until she tries to kill you and at the same time you protect her with so much love as if you're saying, _Oi, only I can make fun of Doremi-chan_!"

The soccer player's face turned into an unusual shade of bright red. He gritted his teeth, and he looked like he would pound Momoko in any second. "_SHUT... UP... ASUKA_..."

Asuka took a step back, giggling. "No, no! Don't take this the wrong way; I just think it's very cute! Now, Onpu-chan on the other hand —"

That was enough. Knowing that another one of Doremi's goonies knew did not make Kotake feel any better than he was already feeling. "WHAT DOES SEGAWA HAVE TO DO WITH THIS?" roared Kotake with so much fury that Asuka fell backwards. With dizzy eyes, she finally sat up and gave a sheepish grin.

"I think you should tell Doremi-chan how you feel," stated Asuka as-a-matter-of-factly. "It wouldn't really make a difference, considering everyone in the whole 6th grade knows that you're nuts over her."

That wasn't something Kotake would like to hear also, but Asuka-san was up to something.

"Your point being?"

"The old and clichéd love letter!" suggested Momoko, striking a fancy pose. "I know what Doremi-chan likes because I'm her friend, so I can help with the letter!"

"Don't you think you're taking this a little bit too far?" Kotake murmured, eying her.

"_Nonsense_! True love will always prevail!" Without another word to that, Asuka grabbed a clean sheet of paper from Kotake's desk before he could yell at her for touching his stuff. She flipped the paper over his homework and then gave a few pats to it.

"There! Now you can start! I'll be here when you need me."

The boy only responded by shoving the paper off his desk. "I'll start by getting this paper off of my table, thank you very much."

Asuka gasped, and did a football dive for the paper as if it was the queen's royal tiara. Dusting herself off, she slammed the paper over the table again, her lime-green eyes blazing. "Come on, Kotake-kun! This is your chance before she turns away and finds someone else! You don't want that to happen, do you?"

"Whoever said I liked that freak?"

Those green eyes bored into him. "Kotake-kun... _do you_?"

He couldn't look straight into her eyes, but he managed to answer, "Of course not."

Asuka smiled. "You _do_. You're such a bad liar. In the future if you want to lie to me, make sure you make eye contact."

_She won_. How could she? Kotake moaned in defeat, and now she was making him write his feelings for one person he "hated." Life was cruel. Life was so cruel! Just why did he have to forget his notes in class? If he hadn't, then none of this would have happened.

"Let's start this,"said Asuka, snatching the pencil again and writing neatly in English. The cursive words looked fancy to Kotake, even if he hadn't had a clue what she was writing.

"_Dearest Doremi_," she read aloud, proud of her work.

Kotake, on the other hand, thought the English was too much. "How will she be able to read that, stupid?"

"She doesn't have to read it. Besides, I'll tell her what it means."

Kotake was suspicious of what she had written. Could she have written "the stupid one loves Doremi?" He all up on his feet, and hollered, "YOU BETTER NOT HAVE INSULTED ME IN THERE!"

Asuka held up her hands confidently, but something showed Kotake that she was still slightly afraid of his anger. "I didn't, I didn't!"

She drew a few tiny hearts on the top of the page, and some fancy curlicues. Wow, art lesson. Kotake rolled his eyes, and then the blonde said, "Here, now's your chance to shine. Just jot down a lovely sonnet that enhances her beauty. Like, _Flowers bloom in your sweet presence_."

Kotake snorted. He pretended to think, and then suggested, "How about, _Each time you walk by, the flowers die of your stench_?"

Asuka wagged her finger. "No! Not funny! You have to prove your love instead of making her mad! Remember, you don't have much time! This is also a good chance for you to work on your Japanese!" The girl thought for a minute, and then shrugged. "Well... Shakespeare wrote his sonnets that way, but no one knew what the heck he was talking about anyway."

"Heh, you're the one who needs Japanese lessons. Heck, on your first day of school, you couldn't even say hello."

After a few minutes, Kotake scrawled a poem in the messiest handwriting he could muster. Eraser streaks were flying here and there, and the words were so blurry Asuka had to squint to read them. Lots of smudges were curved over the characters.

"Hmmm... seems all right. Not so poetic, but not so bad, either. Doremi-chan will be flattered! Got to work on your handwriting, though. It's _atrocious_! After all, the first rule of being an artist is to write like an artist!" Asuka confirmed her statement by adding more fancy swirls on the margins, and more flourishes from the ends of the heading.

"You need more poetry," she commented again, this time more bluntly. She seemed to like taking control of things and ordering others about. Much to Kotake's displeasures, she scribbled down something, and then showed it to him.

"See? Now _that's_ poetry." The girl looked satisfied at her neat work, and gave the paper back to him.

"Whatever." The blue-haired boy rolled his eyes, not bothering to read the paper nor care about it. (Shades of Yada Masaru.) "Hey, don't you have to do something now? Like watch the grass grow?"

"Huh? Oh, right!" Asuka cried, looking at the digital clock resting on Kotake's bookshelf. "See you, Kotake-kun! Remember what I said!"

She ran out the door, and Kotake sighed. He was glad this part of his wasted life was over.

The letter made its way to the trash can.

* * *

_Dearest Doremi,_

_You remind me of a tulip I saw at the garden in the park before Kimura accidentally trampled over it. Its petals are really pretty, and the color of it looks like the same shade of your hair and your eyes._

_Your name is just exquisite. Harukaze Doremi; just perfect for you. Your soft personality is as gentle as the spring breeze, and your voice is as musical as your name. All the spring beauties envy you whenever you stand in their presence._


	2. Earrings and Onpu

**Disclaimer:** All characters, titles, franchises, etc. are solely copyrighted 1999-2004 to companies such as but is not limited to Toei, TV Asahi, BANDAI, etc. unless stated otherwise. I am not affiliated with any of the companies noted above, nor do I have contact with them. This is solely created for fan enjoyment.

* * *

**Chained to a Letter  
Part 2: Earrings and Onpu**

* * *

The next day, Kotake was still locked in a prison — and in his own home too. His reason? Not finishing his Japanese homework.

The idea just made him feel like barfing, and he couldn't help it if he wanted to raise his grade in class. He was doing... averagely. Blah. Same. Neutral. Not good or bad. Not super-smart like Rinno Masato and Asuka Momoko or stupid like Yada Masaru was.

Well, Yada wasn't stupid from getting red marks slashed over all the problems on his tests. He just didn't care for school. If he had worked harder, then surely the trumpeter would have been one of the top students in class. But he wasn't.

Kotake was forced by the school education system to read a boring story in which no one really cared about. If they did happen to care about it, they shouldn't. He looked as his bulletin board and minute by minute, he grew annoyed just looking at that picture with Doremi in it. He snatched the photo off and shoved it in his desk drawer. Because of that certain photo, Momoko was now on his case about it. He didn't even want to look at it anymore.

The doorbell rang again. Who could it be this time? Kotake left his work area and headed towards the door. His mother had seemed to know that Kotake was answering the door, so she didn't even bother to look up from her masterpiece in the kitchen.

He swung the door open, and the first thing he saw was purple. It cleared up and out came Segawa Onpu.

"Hello, Kotake-kun!" she sang out cheerfully.

"What's there to be happy about?" muttered Kotake to himself, thinking that Asuka had already told Segawa about the unfortunate incident with the photo that she found.

Oh, that reminded him that if he let Segawa-san into the house, then he had to hide the photo. Kotake made a little note to do that, but then remembered he hid it in his desk drawer. No problem, all he had to do was to not let Segawa touch his desk. Kotake smiled slyly to himself. His plan was _perfect_.

Segawa poked her head into the house and scanned the room like a predator, as if she were searching for something. Seeing the weirded glance on Kotake's face, she drew back and smiled shyly, faking her embarrassment. Actress thing.

Whatever.

"Spill, Segawa," spat Kotake. "What do you want from me?"

Segawa shrugged. "Well... Momo-chan is crying..."

Kotake immediately felt guilt wash over him. Slapping his forehead, he knew that he shouldn't have been that rude to her. He didn't really like it when people cried, especially when he was the cause of it.

"No, no, no, don't worry," Segawa spoke quickly. "It's not because of you. She lost her earring."

"Ohhhh,"mused Kotake, now understanding the situation. Of course, there was a reason that she should be sad because of that. Doremi once told the class that Momoko's earring was given to her by someone special who had passed away. Still, Kotake never noticed Asuka's earring being loose during her visit. (Well, he probably didn't even notice it at all until Segawa brought up the topic.)

"We think that her earring is in your house from her visit," finished Segawa with a suppressed smile.

"What?" The soccer player found himself aghast. "From the last time I checked, the stud was perfectly tight on her ear. How could it have fallen off?"

"It's... old?" suggested the idol.

Kotake snorted. "Nice one. I did see that Asuka had her earring on when she left my house. Heh, I know for a fact that it's not in my house. How could it get there; by some magical force gone wrong by some witch fiddling around with magic for no reason?"

Segawa turned pale for a second, and gulped. She sighed after a moment of long, dull silence. "Can I just come in and make a quick search?"

"Sure." Kotake swung the door wider, and Segawa entered the middle-class house. Inwardly, he felt proud that a famous pop star was in his house, but he also felt uneasy. What if during her search she found the photo that he had tried to hide from everyone else?

No time to think about it now. Segawa was heading towards Kotake's room.

Not good. If she managed to search his desk, then... oh, the horror! Kotake pulled himself together and began pursuing her.

"Oiiiii!" yelled Kotake, sprinting upstairs to follow her. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

Segawa gave him an awkward stare. "I've already searched the hallway, and Momo-chan said that she was in your room for a while. She hasn't been in any other rooms from what she told me, so the last place to look is in your room."

She opened the door, and went on fours, peeking under Kotake's bed. The violet-haired girl reached for his desk drawers, which Kotake watched in horror from afar. Images of what could happen flashed around his mind, and he was prepared this time. He wasn't caught in surprise like that other time.

As soon as Segawa rummaged from one drawer to the next, she reached for the one with Doremi's photo concealed in it. Kotake, with his quick reflexes, snatched her wrist. Her eyes widened; she wasn't expecting this.

"_Kyaa_!" cried Segawa, falling back onto the carpeted floor with a thump.

"Hey! Watch the desk!" ordered Kotake just as Segawa shrieked. He forcefully released his strong grip, letting the pop star's hand swing away. Segawa scowled and rubbed her wrist.

"You didn't have to pull my wrist out of its socket," she whined, slightly glaring at him.

He found himself embarrassed by his extreme actions. Segawa probably thought he was weird now; all she did was look in a drawer. Maybe she thought he had some very, um, _graphic_ magazines in that drawer. "Um... sorry... how about I look in this drawer?"

"Okay." Segawa tried to peek over Kotake's shoulder, but he pushed her away.

Unfortunately, he pushed her away not before she saw a familiar photo of a pink odango poking out from the stack of papers. Acting as if it were nothing, Segawa turned her attention away from the drawer. Why would Kotake have a photo of Doremi? It was too confusiing for words. A bright gleam called her attention away from her thoughts, and she saw a tiny orange ball, dancing in the sunlight, in Kotake's waste basket.

"Ah! Found it!" her voice rang out, leaping into a crouch as she reached for a handkerchief.

"Come off it, Segawa. My trash can's got nothing but papers. What did you think there was in there, gum?"

"You can never be too careful," was Segawa's calm reply as she pushed apart the papers for the earring. She pulled out the earring and after shining it with her handkerchief, she placed it in her pocket. Then, she suddenly stopped.

"Eh? What's this? _Your soft personality is as gentle as the spring breeze_ —"

"_AAAAAHHHHH_!" screamed Kotake, grabbing the crumpled paper ball away from Segawa's hands.

"Wait! I see Momo-chan's handwriting on there!" Segawa started, trying to reach for the ball. Suddenly, her smile flipped into a sneaky smirk. This was _not_ good.

"Ohhh! So _that's_ why you had that photo of Doremi-chan!"

"Segawa," grumbled Kotake, seething in the same anger he had reserved for Momoko. In his rage he had forgotten that Segawa was in the midst of reaching for the paper ball.

"Bingo!" Segawa snatched the paper ball away from Kotake, using the small distraction she had set up for him. Lucky shot; she was a professional actress.

Asuka and Segawa: 2. Kotake: zilch. Zero. Zip. None. At this rate, Kotake would feel more of a loser than he was the day before. The poor boy was about to protest, but it was too late; Segawa finished uncrinkling and reading it. Her amethyst eyes lightened a little bit as she nodded at every single word.

"So the rumors are true," she told herself as she smoothed the paper out on the desk.

"Oh, please don't start,"moaned Kotake, before Segawa let out all the "him plus Doremi equals love" business.

"I suppose Momo-chan gave you the lookout on the rumor thing already,"said Segawa smiling, delicately streching out her arm to pat Kotake on the shoulder.

"Tell me about it." Kotake rubbed his left temple.

"This letter isn't creative enough, though,"stated Segawa, selecting a pencil from Kotake's pencil supply and scribbling her little creation in there. "You need to be more convincing or else Doremi-chan will believe this is a joke."

"Hey! What are you doing?" cried the soccer player, watching the purple pop star write in her entry.

"Adding some spice into some sugar." Segawa flipped a wink after her calm response. In a few seconds, she was done and handed it to Kotake. "There!"

"_Please accept my love for you or else I'll die_?" Kotake read out loud in disbelief, furrowing his dark eyebrows. His eyes narrowed at Segawa. "How is that convincing?"

Segawa raised her hand. "You're not being serious enough and letting her know how much she really means to you. You're just flattering her with itty-bitty sweet nonsense, and flattering isn't love."

Kotake was not totally won over by Segawa's explanation. "Been watching too many soap operas?"

Segawa looked away, slightly embarrassed. "No..."

She quickly regained her sanity and waved her hand dismissively. "I don't need to watch them. I've been in a lot of them."

The boy tossed the wrinkled sheet of paper aside and pulled out his book again. "I don't need to steal lines from cheesy teenage girl shows to write."

Segawa frowned, and then shrugged. "Suit yourself. I'm only trying to help."

Kotake slammed his book down onto his chestnut desk. Turning to Segawa, he shot the girl a deep glare. "Well, you've helped enough for today. Why don't you help me again by taking a hike?"

"Whatever." Within a few seconds, Segawa left the Kotake residence.

The letter made its way into the trash can again.

* * *

_Dearest Doremi,_

_You remind me of a tulip I saw at the garden in the park before Kimura accidentally trampled over it. Its petals are really pretty, and the color of it looks like the same shade of your hair and your eyes._

_Your name is just exquisite. Harukaze Doremi; just perfect for you. Your soft personality is as gentle as the spring breeze, and your voice is as musical as your name. All the spring beauties envy you whenever you stand in their presence._

_Doremi-chan, you don't know how much you mean to me. How can I go on without telling the person I deeply care for about how I really feel? I'm surprised that I haven't shattered like a mirror yet. Every night and day I suffer from the pain of being pushed away from the warmth of your kindness. My true feelings towards you are too deep to fathom. I can't survive without you. Please accept my love for you or else I'll die._


	3. Games and Aiko

**Disclaimer:** All characters, titles, franchises, etc. are solely copyrighted 1999-2004 to companies such as but is not limited to Toei, TV Asahi, BANDAI, etc. unless stated otherwise. I am not affiliated with any of the companies noted above, nor do I have contact with them. This is solely created for fan enjoyment.

* * *

**Chained to a Letter  
Part 3: Games and Aiko**

* * *

_Scribble, scribble_.

The pencil scrawled across the paper, creating its own rhythm and beat. The wrinkling of the paper matched its tune, and so did the random tapping of a bird at Kotake's window.

He must be _really_ bored to compare the sounds he was hearing to plain old music.

He couldn't stand it any longer. Kotake threw his pencil across the desk and huffily marched towards the window. As if sensing what would happen, the bird gave a little chirp and flapped away. Good riddance.

Kotake returned to his desk and continued to finish his sentence when the doorbell rang.

"Coming!" he grumbled, tossing his pencil again. Kotake thundered down the stairs, and the doorbell continuously rang. It must be Kimura; he was the one who usually did that, and of course, neither of their parents minded.

However, to his surprise, Kotake found out that it was not Kimura. "S-senoo!"

"Yaa!" greeted Senoo in her thick Osaka accent, holding up her hand in a wave.

"You didn't have to ring my doorbell a kajillion of times," was the first thing Kotake said to her.

Senoo rubbed her head, grinning shyly. "I'm sorry! There was this bird; and it kept flying around to peck me."

"Okay," murmured Kotake after a while. "So, what's up?"

"Your butt if you don't hurry!" Senoo alerted him, becoming more serious. "You have a soccer game today, _remember_? I just happened to walk by our school and Kimura-kun told me to get you!"

"A... g-game?"

"Yeah, a game," repeated Senoo, scratching her head

It hit Kotake. He had been too busy doing homework to remember the most important thing in life: soccer. All because of that cursed homework he had forgotten about his game today. He remembered his mother prodding him a few times, but she was out grocery shopping and his father was at work. Kotake was the star player... and if his position was given to _Kimura_, out of all people...

"Noooooooooo!" howled the poor boy, swinging his duffel back out of his closet and proceeding to stuff his equipment in there. Senoo took a step back with an eyebrow raised. Kotake slammed the door on the Osaka girl to change from his normal apparel into his soccer gear.

"What color are we wearing today? Are we home or visitor?" Kotake's muffled voice continued to yammer from behind the door.

Senoo cupped her mouth and yelled so Kotake could hear her over the midst of his panicking. "From what I saw, Kimura-kun and Itou-kun's jerseys were blue!"

"Thanks!"

The door swung open, and out burst Kotake, wildly spinning with his duffel bag slung over his shoulder. His legs were covered with shin guards and knee socks over them. To his dismay, Kotake tripped over his trash can and collapsed onto the floor.

"Ugh..."

Senoo leaned over to examine him. "Hey, are you okay?"

Kotake forced himself to sit up. "Yeah..."

"Good, because when you finish your soccer game, we're going to have a long talk about what you did to Onpu-chan."

"Huhhhhh?" gasped Kotake, staring at a frowning Senoo. "What did I do?"

"The actual reason why I came over here was because Onpu-chan's wrist is swollen. She said that it was nothing, but I know you had something to do with it."

"Ehhh?" Kotake's eyes widened.

"Don't 'Ehhh' me." Senoo put her hands on her hips and leaned closer, giving the soccer player the evil eye. Kotake nervously backed away, and tried to keep thoughts about how big Senoo's forehead was out of his mind. Now wasn't the time to think about this.

"How did you find out? I mean..."

"By magic — er, I mean, _common sense_." Senoo's Osaka accent broke as she caught herself and cleared her throat.

Kotake looked guilty, but he straightened himself up and the expression was gone. "Well, then, tell Segawa that I'm sorry and I'll buy her some candy later."

Senoo rolled her eyes. "And?"

He sighed. Apparently Senoo wanted more than just an apology and candy. "I'll, uh... get her some more candy."

At last Senoo seemed satisfied, and she kneeled next to him. "All righty, then. You're lucky that the media doesn't know about this, otherwise you'd be dead before you say _Onpu-chan's fanboys_."

Kotake gulped and nodded, already feeling the pounding fists of the many rabid fanboys of Segawa Onpu. Even though a few of them were nerdy boys, they were sure to kill him before he hit puberty. The pain. Owww. He even winced at the thought of it.

"You should be going now,"advised Senoo, gesturing to Kotake's alarm clock. "You're already seven minutes late."

"Okay! Thanks!" Kotake saluted and was about to stand up when Senoo noticed a certain ball of paper lying next to Kotake.

"Hey, that's weird. Momo-chan and Onpu-chan's writing is on here... and I think I even see Doremi-chan's name —"

Before he knew it, Senoo picked it up and started uncrumpling it. Her cerulean eyes quickly scanned over the words on the page, and Kotake couldn't do anything about it. He gasped and cried, "NOOOOOOOOOO!"

The navy-haired boy tried lunging for the paper, but Senoo, with her quick reflexes, dodged his body, continuing to read his love letter. Next to where she had found the ball of paper was a photo of Kotake and Doremi. Quickly, Senoo understood what was happening and stood up, nodding.

"Oh, so the rumors are —"

"SHUT UP,"snapped Kotake, who was still face-down on the floor.

Senoo chuckled. "Oh, I see. So that's why Momo-chan and Onpu-chan were acting pretty funny."

"Tell me something I don't know,"grumbled Kotake, forcing himself up.

The blue-haired girl grinned. "That letter was so cheap anyways! What were they thinking?"

Kotake's insides felt relieved, and he sighed in satisfaction. He turned around and smiled, finally having someone on his side who understood how he felt! "I don't know, but it must be crazy!"

Senoo's eyes widened. "Yeah! A letter, how stupid!" She threw back her head and started breaking out in a round of idiotic laughter.

The soccer player smirked, and then gave in. He started snickering as well. At last, someone who understood how ridiculous writing a love letter was! The two were laughing together and cracking more jokes about the idiocy of the letter as tears rolled down their faces.

Senoo fell down onto her bottom, clutching her stomach. "I'm going to die from this! This is the dumbest thing I've ever read!"

"Yeah, really!"

"_You look like that lovely crushed tulip that Kimura-kun trampled over_! That really _kills_!"

"I know! Writing letters are sure dumb!"

"Of course it is! Everyone knows that writing a song is better than a letter!"

Kotake was practically rolling on the floor by now in wild laughter, but all of the sudden, a bell rang. Something didn't feel right. Awkwardly, he sat up with a confused expression on his face. "_Huh_?"

The tomboy was no longer giggling, but she had a creative smile perched on her face. Kotake did not like this one single bit. They had a bit of a staring contest for quite a while until Senoo broke the silence.

"Well, doy, smart one. Everyone knows that!"

This was not what he wanted to hear. Kotake felt himself falling down into the pits of the Underworld, being roasted by its fiery caves. Just when Heaven shined some light upon him, it betrayed him and shut it down on him once when he was getting used to it. Why did life have to be so cruel?

He knew it was no use. Kotake knew what was going to happen next. Before he could say anything, Senoo fetched her harmonica out of her pocket and tooted a chord to begin with.

"Now, first you start with a chord." She blew the same chord again.

"Oh, please, no..."

The Osaka tomboy ignored him. "Then you start singing! I could supply music for you if you want."

"No, thank you." Kotake was still in shock that the one person who could have been on his side flipped off onto Momoko and Onpu's side.

"_Toot_,"went Senoo's harmonica again. Oh, boy. This was going to be long...

Senoo sucked in a deep breath and let her loud voice roll, making up lines as she went. "_Just one more time I wanna let you know; you're the one for me in rain, sun, snow_!"

Kotake covered his ears. It was too mortifying for a boy his age.

He decided that being run over by Onpu fanboys was a better fate than _this_.

But of course Senoo was too busy singing rather than paying attention to the tortured boy. "_Take me away to a Never-neverland; between the church pews, that's where we will stand_!"

Kotake stood up, watching the girl bellow out random nothingness that she had pulled out from thin air, and slipping the harmonica across her lips once in a while. He grumbled,"Okay, okay, Senoo... you can stop... I get it..."

"_A cutie angel is what you are; your light guides me from afar; your sweetie-pinky eyes are what I swim in; your heart is definitely clean as a pin_!"

_Will she ever shut up_? thought Kotake sourly, clamping his ears tighter.

"Senoo! Stop it!"

"_My lovey-dovey heart is for yours to keep_ —"

"Senoo!"

"_If you're so far away, then I can't sleep_ —"

"_SENOO_!"

At last, Senoo stopped the raw punishment, or made it worse by ending the tune with a high squeal that nearly shattered the windows. How she was able to sustain a high note like that, Kotake never knew. Not even Onpu could have done that. Kotake did his best to muffle the noise by clasping his ears with whatever he could hold. He ended up tumbling down onto the ground, twitching.

"Kotake-kun, what's with the twitching?" asked Senoo good-naturedly, oblivious of her reckless singing. A lightbulb seem to click in her mind, and she exclaimed,"I thought of the coolest line ever! Let me write that one down!"

She quickly grabbed the love letter and found Kotake's pen. She quickly slashed a few words here and there, and then dropped it on Kotake's head. "Here you go! I'm pretty sure Doremi-chan will be especially flattered by this!"

"I'm going to kill you for this, Senoo," hissed Kotake under his breath.

Senoo heard. "Well, kill me later because now you're 13 minutes late for your game."

That got Kotake up on his feet. "WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?"

"See ya," called Senoo with a wink, plopping her harmonica back into her pocket. In a few seconds, she was gone, leaving the poor boy in dismay and anger.

But no time for that. Kotake hurriedly rushed to his scrimmage.

The ignored letter was still resting peacefully on his floor.

* * *

_Dearest Doremi,_

_You remind me of a tulip I saw at the garden in the park before Kimura accidentally trampled over it. Its petals are really pretty, and the color of it looks like the same shade of your hair and your eyes._

_Your name is just exquisite. Harukaze Doremi; just perfect for you. Your soft personality is as gentle as the spring breeze, and your voice is as musical as your name. All the spring beauties envy you whenever you stand in their presence._

_Doremi-chan, you don't know how much you mean to me. How can I go on without telling the person I deeply care for about how I really feel? I'm surprised that I haven't shattered like a mirror yet. Every night and day I suffer from the pain of being pushed away from the warmth of your kindness. My true feelings towards you are too deep to fathom. I can't survive without you. Please accept my love for you or else I'll die._

_Through the times that we've had, all the times that I've been bad were for the sake of you. This proves that I love you true._


	4. Honesty and Hazuki

**Disclaimer:** All characters, titles, franchises, etc. are solely copyrighted 1999-2004 to companies such as but is not limited to Toei, TV Asahi, BANDAI, etc. unless stated otherwise. I am not affiliated with any of the companies noted above, nor do I have contact with them. This is solely created for fan enjoyment.

* * *

**Chained to a Letter  
Part 4: Honesty and Hazuki**

* * *

All week Kotake had suffered from countless experiences with Doremi's troublesome friends. That whole thing started when Asuka visited him, and Segawa only made the letter a hindrance. Senoo nearly blasted his ear off with her reckless singing. Oh, woe was he. But he figured this is the punishment he deserved from forgetting his notes at school.

Blast. All because of those stupid notes, he had to go through this.

A few times Segawa had called him, giving him more tips on making the first move, and at school, Asuka, who sat near him, would have an impish smirk pasted on her face whenever he walked by her. Even Senoo, who had nearly beat him up for hurting one of her friends, had become super-friendly to him for the past week. 

This was starting to make him paranoid.

One day, when Kotake was cleaning his room (yes, his parents did force him), he came upon the letter again. In frustration he was about to split it in miniscule pieces with his bare hands when the doorbell rang. 

With a scowl he marched down the stairs and pulled the door open. There stood the innocent Fujiwara Hazuki, with a gentle smile beamed onto her pale face.

"Good afternoon, Kotake-kun," she greeted cheerfully.

Oh, joy. Another one of Doremi's groupies. She was probably the last person he wanted to see right now, but just because she was Doremi's best friend didn't mean he could be mean to her. Fujiwara was way past different than the other girls — she was more quiet, sweet, and passive.

Still. She had yet to find out about the letter and bug him about it. Sure, Kotake knew that the girl was kind, but Hazuki got interested in something, she would not hesitate to stop. Kotake still felt nervous about the time she had peeked at him while he was in the midst of discarding his clothes at a man's bathhouse.

He still had to be polite. "Oh, hey, Fujiwara. What brings you here?" 

"Well,"Fujiwara started, pondering on what she had to say. "Onpu-chan called you on her cell phone a few times, but she wouldn't tell me why. Momo-chan and Ai-chan were acting sort of weird as well. I was wondering if you had anything to do with this because I overheard them talking about you."

Kotake's insides lurched. "Um... may I ask what they said?" 

Fujiwara nodded. "Sure. They were saying something about Kotake-kun with a letter, and that you kept hanging up on Onpu-chan. I know it was greatly wrong of me to eavesdrop, but I couldn't help it. Please forgive me." She swept an elegant bow so deep that her auburn ponytail nearly brushed the pavement.

"It's okay," Kotake heard himself say, whereas in his mind he groaned, _It's definitely NOT okay._

"Is there something going on between with you guys?" asked Fujiwara timidly. "Did they blackmail you?"

Kotake was about to reply with no... but in a way, they did without taking a miserable photograph of him. Speaking of photos, it reminded him of that stupid photo of him and Doremi! What was he thinking? He blushed, feeling the wave of heat flurrying onto his face, but he turned his nose up in the air with, "Please. Why would they blackmail me?"

Fujiwara pushed up her glasses in response. "I remember... that they did throw the topic of Doremi-chan into the conversation as well. I don't know what's going on, but it's fine if you won't tell me. If they're bothering you too much, I can help you."

His jaw immediately dropped. Hearing this nearly made Kotake scream out in joy and he felt that he could hug Fujiwara. His problems were solved! No more "friendly" punches from Senoo; no more phone calls from Segawa; no more sly glances from Asuka. Kotake swallowed, supressing his excitement. He opened his mouth and calmly said, "You can? T-that's wonderful, Fujiwara!"

Fujiwara blushed in embarrassment. "I'm pleased to help, Kotake-kun. I'll be on your side if things get rough."

Kotake almost laughed. "Thank you, Fujiwara! I cannot owe you enough! You certainly made my week better after those three girls tried to make me write a love letter to Dojimi after finding out my mad love for her —"

He stopped. He had let too much information pass, and he could feel his face scorching into a scarlet color.

Fujiwara's glasses glazed with the well-known gleam. Uh-oh, that meant trouble for Kotake. "D-d-did you say _love letter_?" she asked cautiously, leaning closer to him.

Kotake looked away. "No! I meant... um..." He suddenly remembered the ball of paper in his hands from cleaning his room and quickly hid it behind his back. 

The girl shyly blushed and giggled. "May I see the said letter?"

"You can't."

Fujiwara's face fell. "Why not?"

"I, er, threw it away," lied Kotake, avoiding Fujiwara's crestfallen stare.

He sensed that she could tell that he lied, but she didn't persist. Instead of pressing, she replied, "That's a shame. I think if you feel that way about Doremi-chan, you should be honest and tell her straightforward. It would mean more to her than just a _He likes you!_ from your friends."

He grumbled. "Whoever said that I liked her?"

Fujiwara smiled sheepishly. "It was a sense of intuition that told me. You also said so yourself. I think you should show me the letter. I definitely won't show Doremi-chan. It's up to you to make that decision."

Kotake jammed the wad into his back pocket. "No freaking way! Like I will let you see this stupid paper ball!"

"But I thought you threw it away," reminded Fujiwara, displaying a sneaky grin on her face, yet showing apology for tricking the soccer player like that.

Tricked and cornered like a mouse.

Kotake reminded himself to be much more careful to smart girls.

"_Here_," murmured Kotake, surrending the paper ball to Hazuki.

"Oh, you don't have to if you're not —"

"Shut up and just get on with it!" Kotake heard himself say. "You already know about it. Like it makes any difference!"

It was too late to back out. Kotake _had_ to give him a slap on the forehead for _that_.

Fujiwara uncrinkled the ball and slowly recognized the handwriting scrawled on the surface of the paper. She read the words over and over again, then neatly folding it into halves.

"I think that's very sweet, Kotake-kun," she started. "In my opinion, you need to be honest. Don't be so flattering like Momoko or too dramatic like Onpu-chan. Just a plain and honest confession will do."

She drew out a pen from a desk nearby and started writing slowly. Gradually, after a few seconds, she put the pen down. "See? You don't need to make it complicated. Just memories of the past and —"

"Dude, I'm not in school right now," said Kotake. "This isn't an essay!"

Fujiwara held up a hand. "But —" 

The boy shot Fujiwara an awkward glare. "Don't you have your own _boyfriend_ to attend to?"

It was the orange girl's turn to become slightly red with embarassment. "Who do you... _what_... um... Masaru-kun and I aren't..." 

Kotake took this advantage to push Fujiwara out of his house. She tumbled out of the door with a, "Whoop!"

The navy boy stuck his head out through the door and called, "I think I hear your dear boyfriend calling. Goodbye!"

The door slammed between them.

* * *

_Dearest Doremi,_

You remind me of a tulip I saw at the garden in the park before Kimura accidentally trampled over it. Its petals are really pretty, and the color of it looks like the same shade of your hair and your eyes. 

Your name is just exquisite. Harukaze Doremi; just perfect for you. Your soft personality is as gentle as the spring breeze, and your voice is as musical as your name. All the spring beauties envy you whenever you stand in their presence.

Doremi-chan, you don't know how much you mean to me. How can I go on without telling the person I deeply care for about how I really feel? I'm surprised that I haven't shattered like a mirror yet. Every night and day I suffer from the pain of being pushed away from the warmth of your kindness. My true feelings towards you are too deep to fathom. I can't survive without you. Please accept my love for you or else I'll die.

Through the times that we've had, all the times that I've been bad were for the sake of you. This proves that I love you true.

Even though I don't show it, I guess it's true to say that I care. As they say, "You tease the ones you love." I may pick on you because of your hairstyle, but deep down I don't really think you're as horrible as I say you are.


	5. Shopping and Hanachan

**Disclaimer:** All characters, titles, franchises, etc. are solely copyrighted 1999-2004 to companies such as but is not limited to Toei, TV Asahi, BANDAI, etc. unless stated otherwise. I am not affiliated with any of the companies noted above, nor do I have contact with them. This is solely created for fan enjoyment.

* * *

**Chained to a Letter  
Part 5: Shopping and Hana-chan**

* * *

A break from homework.

Kotake picked up a stalk of celery, examined it for any blemishes, and plopped it in a plastic basket. Currently, he was at the nearby grocery store picking out the ingredients for his mother's absolutely luxurious dinner that she had been planning to make. Curry? Bring it on.

He smiled at that thought, a small famish starting to grow at the pit of his stomach. He licked his lips as he imagined the steamy sauce staining the perfect snow of the rice, and he could almost trace the faint smell of warm potatoes and soft carrots.

Kotake's mother had sent him out on this errand, and he was obviously glad. Hey, would he rather stick around in the house with those annoying girls flocking around him? Even if he had to fork a couple of days figuring out which bushel of spinach had the most luscious leaves, it was better than doing homework.

He finished scanning the premises for potatoes, and then moved onto the aisles before him. The curry mix was probably in aisle 3.

"AH! KOTAKE-KUN!" screamed an all-too-familiar voice. The boy spun around and immediately found himself wheeled around in the taut embrace of a young girl named —

"MAKIHATAYAMA!" cried Kotake in surprise, thrown off-guard by the happy-go-lucky girl.

"Cheese!" she squeaked in response, holding up a pallid hand and squeezing up her tiny face for a wide Cheshire Cat grin.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" questioned Kotake absentmindedly; it was the first question that suddenly popped up in his mind. The girl only threw up her arms, stretching them up into the sky.

"Hana-chan's _shopping_!" Makihatayama squealed, jumping up and down as if she were fed too much caffeine, sugar, and coffee. "Hana-chan's going to buy lots of yummy food for Pao-chan and Doremi and Hazuki and Aiko and Onpu and Momo and —"

"Whoa, whoa,"interrupted Kotake, backing away slowly, looking for a way to stifle Makihatayama's babbling. "That… that… um, sounds great."

"It _is_!" agreed the blonde, pumping up her fists in excitement. "What about Kotake-kun? Is Kotake-kun buying yummy food for his friends and family too? What is he getting?"

Man, this girl could talk for hours, but a little company never hurt. Kotake shrugged and chuckled, "I'm just getting some food for dinner."

Makihatayama seemed delighted with his answer. Clasping her tiny hands in excitement, she giggled,"Kotake-kun should get some pudding! Pudding makes everyone happy-py! Hana-chan loves pudding, so she's getting some!" She gestured to her shopping basket for emphasis.

"WHOA," was all Kotake could say when he saw the immense pile of pudding packages in Makihatayama's shopping basket. It looked like she had practically ripped off the pudding section in the cold products aisle and stacked them in ridiculous mounds in her basket.

"You call that _some_?" gasped Kotake, his bulging eyes still located on the basket.

Makihatayama giggled childishly again. "Majorika sent Hana-chan shopping. This is Hana-chan's first time shopping, so she's going to get a lot of pudding before Majorika can go again!"

"M-majorika?" repeated Kotake in a nervous tone. He had never heard of this "Majorika" before, and yet at the very sound of her name brought chills down his spine for some reason. "Y-you mean… your grandma, right?" 

Makihatayama fervently shook her head. "No! Majorika is..." She stopped before she ended her sentence, her cheerfulness forgotten. The blonde ended up lost in thought, shamefully looking down at her sunny-orange sneakers. "… yes, Majorika is Hana-chan's grandma."

The boy was confused at Makihatayama's sudden change in mood, but he did not press on. "Well, I'm going to go buy some more food for dinner. Later!" 

He waved at Makihatayama's slim figure, and turned on his heel to continue picking out the proper vegetables for tonight's curry… now, what else did he need to get? Oh, yes, he could consult the shopping list his mother scribbled for him. Kotake ran a tongue over his dry lips as he dug his hand into his pocket, searching for the small, slightly waddled list.

He let out a small grunt as his hands drew out the slip of paper. The soccer player shifted the weight of his basket to one arm, and unfolded the squashed paper with the other. Instead of seeing if he needed lettuce, he saw — 

"AAAH! I THOUGHT I GOT RID OF _THIS_!" he screeched in surprise, throwing down the letter that he —no, those blasted comrades of Dojimi had written for the girl herself. Ignoring the bypassing people that shot him weird looks, Kotake crinkled up the letter, his face as red as a tomato.

"Kotake-kun!" squealed the same voice from before.

"Hana-chan's here to save you! Kotake-kun was screaming! Is he hurt?" Makihatayama grabbed Kotake's arm, checking his body for any physical marks. With a surprised expression, Kotake withdrew himself, staring at the young girl with an odd stare. Makihatayama only ended up lunging towards his arm again, and the whole pattern repeated until Kotake tried to put a stop to it.

"Get away from me!" screeched Kotake, pushing her away.

Makihatayama's caramel-brown eyes started tearing up. "But… but Hana-chan only wanted to help! Kotake-kun's in danger, right? Right?" 

Kotake huffed, "Not that I know of."

"Hana-chan wants to knoooooooow," the girl continued warbling, her wavering cries loud enough for the whole supermarket to hear. "Hana-chan wants to know Hana-chan wants to know Hana-chan wants to know Hana-chan wants to know Hana-chan wants to knoooooooow!" she continued in a non-stop, repeating screech.

Spinning around, Kotake noticed a few odd looks here and there again from people nearby pushing their metal shopping carts. Makihatayama was being so loud that Kotake knew that if any of the employees found her, they'd literally throw her out of the supermarket. Correction, _him_, because they would think that Kotake bullied the girl, making her wail as she was doing right now.

"Ma-Makihatayama," stammered Kotake, trying to soothe and ease Makihatayama's seemingly endless wails. "Calm down —"

Immediately, the girl was up and ready for some action again. "Hana-chan will never give up! Hana-chan will find out what's wrong and Hana-chan will fix Kotake-kun's problem!" She turned around on one foot and ran away with her basket of pudding, arms spread out as if she were an airplane.

Kotake's eye twitched as he watched the peculiar sixth grader speed down the aisle. He murmured to himself,"I don't know whether I should be comforted or whether I should go impale myself on something."

He narrowed his gaze to the basket he was holding and remembered that he had some shopping to do. Rummaging in his pocket for the shopping list, he realized his pocket felt relatively empty… but that was strange. Kotake didn't remember throwing out anything. At last, his fingers grasped a corner of a piece of paper. He pulled it out and…

"Found it!" he cried in happiness. Finally, that goshdarn shopping list was in his clenched fist, and he was ready to commence shopping for whatever his mom needed.

"KOTAKE-KUUUUUUUUN!"

Ugh, it was her again.

"Now what?" demanded an irritated Kotake as once again he came upon Makihatayama.

"Cheese!" she yipped happily.

"Cheese?" wondered Kotake in an annoyed and mordant tone.

"Ah, Hana-chan found something,"squeaked the girl, digging her hand into one of the pockets in her blue shorts. "Hana-chan found Kotake-kun's shopping list!" She dangled a familiar-looking crumpled paper in front of Kotake's blue eyes.

"That's odd," commented the navy-haired boy. "I already have my — OH, SNAP." 

He recognized the paper during mid-sentence. His worse nightmare had come to life again. Surely the blonde in front of him would scribble whatever sappy, romantic idea occurred to her and leave him in distress. Kotake felt as if the world was going to explode, and he didn't even know how Makihatyama had gotten a hold of his letter... he must have dropped it and she must have picked it up. 

Life was so cruel.

Makihatayama ran her brown eyes quickly across the messy handwriting and yelled, "Kotake-kun's going to buy tulips and spring beauties! Is Kotake-kun planning on throwing a party? Hana-chan wants to come!"

Kotake lost his momentum for a moment and nearly fell over at Makihatayama's incorrect interpretation. "I guess she is too air-headed to understand after all…"

Makihatayama placed a finger on her pale cheek and mused for a moment. "Kotake-kun is missing something on this list…"

The boy snapped up. She couldn't mean…? Was she going to put in something ridiculous like elephants? Beads?

_Doremi_, even for that matter? 

"AHA!" she hooted, plucking her favorite pencil from her pocket and jotting down her ideas.

"Give me that!" the soccer player ordered as he turned to the girl. Kotake jerked his hand across hers, snatching the piece of paper. 

Thank goodness Makihatayama couldn't read much of the scribbles on that piece of paper. Kotake opened his fist and Makihatayama slammed a hand down onto his palm. "Look what Hana-chan put! Look, look!" she urged in an excited voice. 

Kotake was hesitant and tried to maintain his cool. He managed to straighten up with the best Yada Masaru impression he could muster as he rolled his eyes. "Why would I want to do that?"

Makihatayama jumped up and down. "Because Hana-chan put something cool on the list! Look, look!"

It was good that Makihatayama didn't seem to know what was really going on with the paper, but Kotake somehow didn't know whether to sigh in relief or in exasperation. The little girl continued gesturing and pointing madly at his hand as if she were having a seizure.

"Kotake-kuuuuuuun!" pleaded Makihatayama in an impatient voice. The soccer player looked around and people were staring at them again. If this was the only way to get her to be quiet, then he'd go for it.

Kotake let curiosity take the better of him and slowly unwrinkled the already-crinkled paper. His eyes suddenly widened at Makihatayama's whimsical words and he shot his stare towards her, blue eyes narrowed.

"_PUDDING_?" was all Kotake could shoot at her.

Makihatayama's round face bobbed up and down. "Yep! You can't have a party without pudding! That wouldn't be fun at all!"

The soccer player took a step back. "But… _pudding_," he sputtered, still in a frightened and unsure voice.

The odd blonde started to spin around in what she would call "the Pudding Dance." Kotake's eye twitched, and he backed further away. He examined Makihatayama's handwriting again on the paper, only to be distracted by his watch.

Whoa, he was late. His parents were probably wondering what he was doing right now. Kotake wondered how he would answer to them if they asked him where in the world he had been the whole hour and a half that he was gone. _Well, Kaa-san, Tou-san, I bumped into a certain scary classmate of mine, and we talked about pudding. Funny, huh_?

How convincing that would be.

"So, Kotake-kun, am I invited to the party?" Makihatayama suddenly asked, light brown eyes shining brightly.

"I'm late for something," Kotake sharply cut in. "Um, I'd, uh, love to stay with you to chat some more, but I gotta get going now. Later!"

He walked, no, ran away as fast as his legs would take him.

And because of Makihatayama, Kotake nearly forgot to buy the curry mix.

* * *

_Dearest Doremi,_

You remind me of a tulip I saw at the garden in the park before Kimura accidentally trampled over it. Its petals are really pretty, and the color of it looks like the same shade of your hair and your eyes. 

Your name is just exquisite. Harukaze Doremi; just perfect for you. Your soft personality is as gentle as the spring breeze, and your voice is as musical as your name. All the spring beauties envy you whenever you stand in their presence.

Doremi-chan, you don't know how much you mean to me. How can I go on without telling the person I deeply care for about how I really feel? I'm surprised that I haven't shattered like a mirror yet. Every night and day I suffer from the pain of being pushed away from the warmth of your kindness. My true feelings towards you are too deep to fathom. I can't survive without you. Please accept my love for you or else I'll die.

Through the times that we've had, all the times that I've been bad were for the sake of you. This proves that I love you true.

Even though I don't show it, I guess it's true to say that I care. As they say, "You tease the ones you love." I may pick on you because of your hairstyle, but deep down I don't really think you're as horrible as I say you are.

_PUDDING_


End file.
